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Days after a hit-and-run collision that left a 21-year-old bicyclist brain-dead, Columbus police
were still looking for the vehicle that struck him.

Elijah Smith was taken to Grant Medical Center after he was hit while riding his bicycle home
from work about 4 a.m. Wednesday. His father, Rodney Smith, 48, of Canal Winchester, said doctors
declared his son brain-dead on Thursday.

Elijah Smith was struck near Woodland and Woodward avenues on the North Side, said Sgt. Brooke
Wilson of the Columbus police accident-investigation unit. Wilson said police were looking for a
black 2004 Volkswagen Passat with front-end damage, a smashed windshield and a smashed sunroof.

Rodney Smith said his son was bicycling to his E. 11th Avenue home from his overnight shift at
Plaskolite Inc., an acrylic-sheet manufacturing plant on Joyce Avenue.

Elijah Smith is on life support at the hospital, Rodney Smith said, but his family and friends
haven’t given up on his recovery.

“We have been praying every day,” he said.

Elijah Smith recently had become a father. His son, King, was born on June 22, Rodney Smith
said. He said his family hopes the driver who hit his son will come forward.

“We’re hoping the responsible party will at least step forward and take responsibility,” he
said.